Chapter Thirty-One: The Thousand-Layer Pancake War

On this day, an anonymous post appeared in the lifestyle section of a certain superhero fan forum:

[Title: What Should I Do If My Father Is Too Fond of Adopting Children?
Content: Hello everyone. A friend recommended this forum to me and taught me how to use it. I am very grateful to him, but because the issue I’m about to ask about involves some privacy, I have chosen to remain anonymous. If my friend happens to see this post, please allow me to apologize in advance.

Here is the specific situation I would like to seek advice on: Recently, there have been many changes in my family. First, my older brother, who had run away from home, returned, and then my adoptive father brought home a new member. My father has never been married; all the children are adopted. The relationship between my brother and father is quite hostile, often resulting in violent fights with severe consequences. However, from an outsider’s perspective, I do not think there is anything wrong with my father. The conflict between them is entirely caused by my brother.

My father’s work is very busy—sometimes he is occupied all day and even has to go out at night—so he struggles to balance family life. My brother believes that our father has long neglected him and treated him coldly, so he repeatedly provokes him, even joining the mob to oppose him. My relationship with my brother is also strained, mainly because after he found out my father adopted me, he tried to lure and kidnap me, endangering my safety.

That’s the background. Recently, my father brought home yet another new member. But this time, he clearly favors the youngest child, interacting with him frequently. Although the youngest’s origins are unknown, he is heavily armed and dangerously formidable, and has a murky relationship with my brother. Yet my father chooses to tolerate and ignore this for various reasons.

I have few peers to talk to, and those I do know are not ordinary people by worldly standards. So I want to ask here: How should I handle the family dynamics without causing my father trouble? If my brother and the youngest child attract most of my father’s attention, what should I do? Lastly, I heard somewhere that minors don’t get punished for murder—is that true?]

…

The superhero fan forum, as the name suggests, emerged as a hotspot for discussion in an age increasingly dominated by heroes and villains. Nowadays, the forum’s content extends far beyond superhero chatter—you can find political news, sports updates, online games, film and TV promotions, and even trivial daily anecdotes from users’ real lives.

What sets this forum apart is that you can actually encounter superheroes here—and there’s even a chance to read fan fiction secretly penned by one of them under an alias. Rarely known, but Miles Morales has done just that.

Though every superhero interviewed denies ever hearing of this forum, it’s as unreliable as a supervillain claiming innocence in court.

You just need to invest some effort to discern who’s behind those IDs and anonymous posts.

Take today’s unsurprising hot topic in the lifestyle section:

[What Should I Do If My Father Is Too Fond of Adopting Children?]

Just a few words, yet it feels like a revelation shaking the world.

Nightwing, Dick Grayson, came across this post while attending a Justice League meeting as a member of the Titans. Alongside him was fellow Titan member, Wally West, the Flash. About twenty people were in the conference room, though not all were Justice League heroes. Many teams like the Titans only send one or two representatives; others are too far away or have more pressing matters.

Counting those who temporarily joined the League during various global crises, the total number of members easily doubles.

As with any large organization, management inevitably becomes complicated. Take Batman’s family, for example—over twenty members each with their own teams. Finding a common free time to share a meal is difficult, let alone offering timely support during crises.

If Gail or Gwen were here, they’d probably say: “Who gets screen time depends solely on whether the comic writers suddenly remember ‘Oh, this person exists.’”

In reality, it’s whoever shows up when it counts. The Justice League, as the oldest and largest team, holds meetings occasionally for members to catch up, share news if any, and otherwise just hang out. After all, a superhero’s life is unpredictable; such meetings at least reassure comrades they’re still alive.

Dick came today because Batman was absent and the Titans had just resolved a crisis—he wanted to unwind a bit.

His old friend Wally was originally at the League’s Watchtower headquarters, ready to head home, but found his mother, Mary West, had commandeered the League’s teleportation gate installed at his place to tour the world. Since she’s his mother, he couldn’t argue, so he stayed to keep Nightwing company.

There was nothing urgent on the agenda.

Among the core Justice League members, Batman was absent; Superman said a few words, casually mentioning a kangaroo invasion in Metropolis two days ago, then went off to chat with Black Lightning; Wonder Woman was busy but sent her protégé Cassandra Mark. Dick also spotted Steel, Beast Boy, Blue Beetle... most attendees were young heroes, with the older generation voluntarily giving them space.

Seizing a moment, Dick nudged Wally and slipped his phone under the table.

Wally looked down, started reading, then suddenly choked on his saliva, coughing loudly. Waving off concern, he leaned close and whispered, “What’s going on? Is this from the person I think it is?”

The title alone suggested Batman—few heroes have as large a ‘family business’ or are as fond of adopting children. But that wasn’t conclusive. The post mentioned the brother’s hostile relationship with the father—matching Red Hood and Batman’s strained ties.

The youngest child, “heavily armed and of unknown origin,” was clearly the current Robin, Damian Wayne.

The poster, caught between the ‘brother’ and ‘youngest,’ was threatened by the brother after being adopted by the father—this matched Tim Drake, the Red Robin, who was once severely beaten by Red Hood. Even the “unclear relationship” between the youngest and brother was explained by Red Hood’s romantic involvement with Damian’s mother.

Wally’s reflexive suspicion, shaped by his immersion in the Bat-family’s dynamics, was mirrored by Dick’s first thought: his own family.

But Dick quickly ruled out Jason Todd as the poster—he had no motive, and his style was different.

Wally shrugged. “Okay, you’re the detective—what do you think? Let me check the replies... Huh, one anonymous reply says ‘I thought of someone,’ definitely a superhero, but who exactly is unknown.”

“This post is blowing up.” Nightwing glanced around the room; every young hero sat upright. “I bet half of them have seen it, and a quarter replied anonymously or using alternate accounts. What will onlookers think? They can’t instantly rule out Red Robin like I can, so they’ll see this as Tim declaring war on Jason and Damian. If Jason and Damian think that way, they’ll look for a chance to strike Tim.”

Wally said, “So the poster’s actually targeting Red Robin?”

“No, that means you only see the surface.” Dick said seriously, “After years of this war, neither Jason nor Damian would think of Tim so simply. If Tim were the culprit, he wouldn’t expose himself by posting. So, conversely, the poster isn’t Tim.”

Wally: “Wait, we’re not talking about a culprit here. And you call your brotherly disputes a war?”

Dick ignored him and continued: “Since Jason and Damian, like me, exclude Tim, the real perpetrator is still hidden. Who knows the family’s situation better than any of the three, is familiar with this forum, and recently had time to post?”

The dark-haired, blue-eyed vigilante looked solemnly at his friend and answered, “That’s me.”

“I swear, under Batman’s witness, I didn’t post it—but Red Hood and Robin will be sure it was me.”

“So the conclusion is, the real poster is targeting Nightwing.”

“…”

Wally stared dumbfounded, not even noticing the sudden silence around them. Immersed in the Bat-family’s layered conflicts, he frowned and asked, “So who knows your family’s situation better than the four of you, isn’t one of you, can anticipate Jason and Damian bypassing Tim to target you, and is familiar with this forum and recently had time to post?”

He instinctively glanced toward the empty chair by Superman’s spot at the far end of the long table.

Across from Wally, Cassandra Mark, having listened to the whole conversation, loudly voiced Wally’s thought: “The poster is Batman! Batman’s targeting Nightwing!”

Silence.

Wally noticed every young hero’s face mixed shock with confusion. Both emotions require understanding what’s happening, implying Nightwing’s estimate was slightly off—everyone had seen the post, and at least half had replied.

Yet no one discussed Nightwing’s detective-led deduction. Instead, their gazes all turned unanimously behind Wally.

A bat-shaped shadow descended from above. The fearsome bat-creature reached out, snatched Nightwing’s phone from Wally’s hand, and spoke in a low voice: “The poster is the adopted daughter of the Dark Lantern and Elias Esposito, her brother is an international gang leader, and the youngest is a St. Bernard.”

“Nightwing already knew this—Superman told him.” Batman arrived late, scanned the room, paused, and said, “He was just messing with you all.”